hosting own site on static IP

[mogwai]

Anyone have a URL or information on how to set up a website on your own computer using ones own static ip? Do I need to set up some virtual server or something?

[Dom MD]

i myself use apache webserver.... i think it's the most reliable one out there, and quite easy to use, once you take a little time to read. d:)
http://www.apache.org

i used to use savant webserver, but it has a bug where it crashes if too many files are requested within a certain time period.

[MishY]

Apache is great although expect to need to learn how to use it :)

What OS are you using ?

Are you aware that most ISPs will not let people run servers off their connections ?

[mogwai]

I'm running windows XP pro.

[Dom MD]

my roommate runs apache on his xp just fine. just for general info. d:)

[mogwai]

This seems complicated, do I need a manual??? On another note, am I going to have to open ports on my router to get this working?

[MishY]

You need to edit httpd.conf to get things going. Documentation on how to use Apache can be found on the apache website.

You will need to open TCP Port 80 on your router for non-local users to view your website.

[Dom MD]

and if you have a Linksys router, since the router settings are hosted on localhost, you won't be able to host through port 80.

and yes, it seems complicated at first, but once you install, you pretty much only need to play around with the httpd.conf file like MishY said. make sure to restart the webserver using the Apache Monitor everytime you make changes!

[Steven.Bentley]

and keep backing up httpd.conf while you're playing with it - it's easy to screw it up, so it's handy to have a back-up

[Dom MD]

apache has a backup of httpd in the same folder, called httpd.default

so don't touch that one, just edit the httpd one. if you screw up, just copy/paste the httpd.default one into the httpd one, and start over. d:)

[Steven.Bentley]

I tend to get one thing working how I want it, then make a mess of configuring something else and end up having to go back to the default, losing my settings for the first thing lol